Nissan Advice

Nissan offers a capped-price servicing program for all of its current models.According to the Japanese brand, as of January 1, 2025, Nissan Flat Price Service gives you the confidence of knowing that your vehicle is being serviced by "Nissan-trained technicians using only Nissan Genuine Parts".Nissan's capped-price servicing program covers its new vehicles for a total of five years, no matter if it's a Juke small SUV, Navara ute or V8 petrol Patrol 4WD. The costs change depending on the model, with electric vehicles typically the most affordable to own and run.The service intervals are dictated by model, too. The worst Nissans to own from a maintenance perspective are the Z sports car and Qashqai e-Power, X-Trail, Pathfinder and Patrol SUVs, with servicing needed every 12 months or 10,000km. The best are the Juke, Leaf EV and Navara, with maintenance every 12 months or 20,000km - very tradie-friendly, then. Check out the table below for your model's specific service intervals.Nissan is leading from the front, offering a 10-year/300,000-kilometre warranty. MG and Mitsubishi also offer decade-long terms, with the latter's also conditional on the vehicle being serviced at an authorised dealership.Additionally, Nissan includes a one-year roadside assist plan at the time of purchase.See the table below for the average cost per service for each model in the Nissan range, plus the service intervals applicable to each of them.

Affordable electric cars are an emerging market in Australia - and the timing couldn’t be better.

The most economical car argument is still a valid one, despite the fact that oil prices have stabilised around the world.

What is the cheapest ute in Australia?At the time of publication the cheapest ute in Australia is the Toyota HiLux Workmate 4x2. A key reason for the HiLux’s sustained success is Toyota’s decision to ensure every end of the market is covered, from the humble Workmate to the plush Rogue and dynamic GR-Sport. The Workmate 4x2 starts at just $26,475 (plus on-road costs), retaining its title as cheapest new ute Australia despite the influx of new cheaper offerings from China and India in recent years. As the legend goes, utes were originally intended to be a vehicle to take farmers to church on Sunday and the market on Monday. Therefore, they were designed to be an affordable, working class vehicle that appealed to a limited audience.Fast forward nearly 100 years and the ute has become a defining feature of Australian automotive society and culture. The ute is now no longer just going to the church and the market, it drives people to building sites, office blocks, the beach, the motocross track, the local shopping centre and just about anywhere else a modern car goes.As the ute has become ubiquitous it has evolved into many different forms and become increasingly expensive. The popular Ford Ranger Raptor starts at more than $90,000, while the new breed of locally-converted American ‘pick-ups’ can cost more than six-figures, with the Ram 3500 Laramie a whopping $177,950.But what if you’re still after an affordable ute that won’t break the bank? Well, we’ve got you covered. In this article you’ll find a list of the cheapest utes Australia has to offer at this moment in time (December 2024).While the market has shifted more upmarket in recent years, the good news for Australian buyers is there are still plenty of affordable utes available. As the Toyota HiLux Workmate proves, these aren’t from just newer brands like GWM, Mahindra and LDV. Instead, (if you don’t need 4x4) you can get into an Isuzu, Nissan, Mazda or Ford for under $40K.Beyond the usual factors you consider when buying a new ute - price, payload, towing capacity, etc - one of the key considerations when looking for a budget ute is reliability and future ownership credentials. For example, the Tata Xenon was the cheapest ute Australia offered a few years ago, starting at just $19,990. However, the brand did not last long and exited the Australian market, which leaves owners with an uncertain future.All the brands on our list below are now firmly established in the local market, so should not suffer a similar fate to Tata, but it still pays to consider the company you’re buying from and what reputation it has for reliability and ownership in the ute sector.  The HiLux was the best-selling ute (and one of the most popular new models, period) in Australia for a very long time and the Workmate has a lot to do with that.It may be powered by a humble 122kW/245Nm 2.7-litre turbo-diesel, have a single cab chassis and only be 4x2, but for buyers looking for a cheap, hard-working ute it ticks all the right boxes - it can tow up to 2500kg and has a payload of up to 1145kg. While Toyota may have a diverse HiLux range now, it has never forgotten the need to cater to the budget end of the segment, even in the face of the arrival of GWM, Mahindra and Tata with some very cheap utes in recent years. But while some have come and gone, the Workmate has remained.The D-Max is one of Australia’s favourite utes, typically finishing behind only the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux in the sales race. A big part of that popularity is its affordability, which is led by the entry-grade SX Single Cab. It’s powered by a 110kW/350Nm 1.9-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel paired with a six-speed manual transmission. While it has a small engine, it has a braked towing capacity of 2800kg and a payload capacity of 1400kg (without a tray), so it can still work hard.You’ll be noticing the theme here is single cab chassis models, because the bed adds to the cost and bumps them out of the most economical ute discussion. The Navara SL is another example of this, taking a no-frills approach and only offering the important elements.That includes a 2.3-litre twin-turbo diesel good for 120kW/403Nm and paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. This is enough to give the Navara SL a 3500kg braked towing capacity, which is on par with more expensive 4x4 models, and also a payload of 1350kg.The Chinese brand has made its mark with its affordable range of Cannon utes, which begins with this cab chassis option. It has the same 120kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel as the rest of the range but misses out on the four-wheel drive. That gives it enough to tow up to 3000kg and the payload is rated at 1050kg.What it does have over the previous utes on this list is a back seat, with a dual cab body and it also gets the aluminium tray out the back included in the price. It also gets some other nice touches not common at this price point, such as an eight-speed automatic transmission and alloy wheels. The Indian brand has been in Australia longer than most people probably remember, first arriving back in 2007. The Pikup has been its staple since then and after the cut-price S6+ and S10 models laid the foundation, this newer S11 has arrived to carry on the legacy of affordable utes from Mahindra.While it’s the most expensive of the five on this list, it’s the only 4x4 and the only dual cab of its kind for under $40K.Powered by a 103kW/320Nm 2.2-litre turbo-diesel the Pikup S11 can tow up to 2500kg and has a 1035kg payload.

What is the fastest P-plate legal car in Australia? There’s no hard and fast winner when it comes to what is the fastest legal p-plate car, as each state has differing rules about what is allowed.

Electric cars come in all shapes and sizes these days, but arguably the most logical shape is the hatchback. Why? Well, as much as Australians love SUVs and bigger luxury cars, the humble hatch makes the most efficient use of space. And if you’re going to buy an electric car, it makes sense to be concerned about efficiency.Thankfully, in contrast with an overall decline in the small-car market, there is an increasingly diverse range of battery-powered hatchbacks to choose from. The list of hatchback electric cars is getting longer each month with new brands jumping into the fray.And while space and size are key attractions of the electric hatch, there is another element that makes them popular - price. At the time of publication the most affordable electric car you can buy is an EV hatchback, opening up the nascent market for more people.One excellent example is the much-praised MG4, which has emerged not only as one of the better selling EVs in the country but is on track to be one of the most popular small cars over all. In 2023, it out sold the likes of the Subaru Impreza and Honda Civic and is trending upwards in 2024.Yet another reason why electric hatches are gaining popularity in Australia is availability, with those willing to look beyond an SUV discovering a good supply of electric hatchbacks in Australia.This is because of the volume of choice and diversity of models, with at least eight examples already in showrooms and more planned to follow in the near future.The biggest questions are what is the future of electric hatchbacks expected to look like in Australia?The answer to the question is more choice for smaller, more affordable EVs, but there is also likely to be more crossover between a true hatchback and a modern crossover. Models like the Renault Megane E-Tech and Volvo EX30 blur the lines between a hatch and an SUV but that appears to be a future trend.One key element missing from the market is a Tesla hatchback, and that would be a potential game changer. The American brand has repeatedly hinted at adding a hatch, likely to be known as the Model 2, as a cheaper offering to sit beneath the Model 3 sedan.In the shorter-term there are several new EV hatches likely to be hitting Australian roads in the not-too-distant future, including the Volkswagen ID.3, Peugeot e-208 and Renault 5 E-Tech.Not that we need to gaze longingly into a crystal ball to look for the next small EV. Below is a list of the best electric hatchbacks on the Australian market at the time of publication.Ranking the list of available electric hatchbacks by price is no easy task thanks to the highly competitive nature of the market at this moment in time.MG announced its small car would be the cheapest EV at $39,990, only for BYD to undercut it within days, and then GWM joined the party. It only gets more confusing thanks to a series of drive-away deals, such as the one GWM is currently (at time of publication) offering on its (not-at-all-a-Mini-why-do-you-ask) Ora small car.Its original asking price of $39,990 drive-away has been slashed to $35,990, making it the cheapest EV you can buy. For the money, you get up to 310km of driving range on a single charge and 126kW of performance.If you’re looking to Build Your Dreams of an electric car on a budget, then the Dolphin is for you. It arrived with a bang, sporting the lowest sticker price of any EV in Australia by starting at $38,890, which undercut the Ora and MG4 by $100 - at least on paper, at the time. However, the Chinese brand is offering a drive-away price of $41,490, which makes it more expensive than the GWM and MG in this current price war.For that money you get a Dolphin Dynamic, a small car with space for five, a 70kW/180Nm electric motor and a battery good for 340km of driving range. There’s a Dolphin Premium, with a 150kW/310Nm motor and 427km of range (plus bigger wheels, two-tone paint and other extras) but that’s an additional $6000.The price of the MG4 is another moving target in the battle for affordability being fought out amongst the three Chinese carmakers. It has floated up and down, reaching as low as $39,990 drive-away for the run-out sale of 2023 examples, but was sitting at $43,131 drive-away for the 2024 model at the time of publication.It’s a spacious and practical small car, with 350km range from its 51kWh battery and a 125kW motor for the entry-level Excite 51 model that has the sharpest price.There are three more variants in the range, the 64kWh and 77kWh standard models and the MG4 XPower electric hot hatch. The latter boasts impressive performance credentials, with 320kW/600Nm and 400km of range for $63,973 drive-away.The fully electric hatchback that arguably started it all, the Leaf was the first mainstream small EV hatchback that was broadly accepted in the local market (with apologies to the Mitsubishi i-MiEV) way back in 2012, when the Tesla Cybertruck wasn’t even a glint in Elon Musk’s mad eyes.Even though a second-generation model was introduced in 2018 (which was largely a makeover) the Leaf is starting to show its age in terms of both design and technology.The standard model is equipped with a 39kWh battery that’s only enough for 270km of range and it powers a 110kW motor. There’s a more powerful Leaf+ available, which gains a 58kWh battery to boost range to 385km.Its official list price is $50,990, but in a bid to keep up with its newer competition, Nissan Australia is offering it for $39,990 drive-away for the standard model and $49,990 drive-away for the Leaf+.If you’re looking for a truly compact electric car then look no further than this pint-sized city runabout. Fiat has managed to keep the tiny dimensions of the petrol-powered 500 and package up an all-electric powertrain inside a stylish small car.It’s not a cheap proposition at $52,500 plus on-road costs, which makes it a premium EV by many standards, but it is well-equipped for the price and does give you a more upmarket feel than most of the cars on this list.It doesn’t have a particularly powerful motor, just 87kW/220Nm, but it certainly feels zippy on the road. Being so small it can’t fit lots of batteries, so the range is limited to just 311km, which does limit it to being more of an urban EV rather than something for long-distance drives.If you like the Fiat but want something sportier, you can consider the Abarth 500e. The Italian brand’s performance division has wound up the power to 113.7kW/235Nm and added a sound generator for a more exciting driving experience.It carries a price premium, too, starting at $58,990 (plus on-road costs) for the Turismo and $60,500 for the Scorpionissima variant.The British brand may not be thought of in the same sentence as Tesla and Polestar, but it is surprisingly ahead of the curve when it comes to EVs. It has just launched its second-generation electric Cooper hatch with an electric Countryman and Aceman to follow soon.It’s arrived with a sharp $59,830 drive-away price for the Cooper E and $65,040 for the more potent Cooper SE, no doubt helped by the brand’s decision to share development and production with GWM.The Cooper E boasts 135kW and a 305km range, with the Cooper SE boosting those numbers to 160kW and 402km.While Volkswagen awaits its first EVs, its Spanish off-shoot is already leading the way with its electric hot hatch. While it’s significantly more expensive than the first cars on this list, it comes with more features, equipment, performance and range to help justify the extra ask.Key amongst its performance credentials is the fact it’s rear-wheel drive, something few other hatches can claim. It’s powered by a 170kW/310Nm motor to provide hot-hatch levels of speed and has a 82kWh battery that provides an impressive 511km of claimed driving range.

If you want to get your hands on a car that was never sold new in Australia by the manufacturer, there is only one way to get it: you have to import it.

What is the average width of a car?The average width of a car is 1.94 metres.That figure comes from averaging the width of popular vehicle types spanning the Australian new car market.The average width of a small/compact SUV is about 1800mm, the average width of a medium SUV is about 1840mm, the average width of a large SUV is about 1860mm, the average width of an upper large SUV is about 1980mm, the average width of a ute is about 1870mm, and the average width of a US pick-up is about 2300mm.One of the most crucial factors you must take into account when buying a car is whether it will fit in the allocated place in which you plan to park it when it’s not being used – whether that be a resident-only car park, your driveway, garage, car port, etc. And, of course, a vehicle’s width is part of this.So, how wide are cars? Whether you’re buying a hatchback, a sedan, a wagon or a full-size US pick-up, you must know the dimensions of your potential purchase in order to ensure you’re able to safely house it at your home.Car widths differ depending on the vehicle type, for instance a Hyundai i30 (1795mm) is not anywhere near as wide as a Ram 1500 pick-up (2465mm).Note: for the purposes of this yarn, we’re focussing on commercially available mainstream passenger vehicles.So, what is the average width of a car? As the old saying goes: how long’s a piece of string?Read on.The width of different vehicle models within the same realm – hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, SUVs, utes, pick-ups, etc – does not vary as greatly as length may. By its very nature, a motor car has to accommodate at least two seated people across its width.How much do vehicles differ? Not a whole lot, really. Models that occupy the same section of the market will be within 150mm of each other in terms of width.A small urban car, perhaps well suited to a couple or a couple and their labradoodle, will need less people- and cargo-space than a gargantuan, bush-based, horse-trailer-towing US pick-up that regularly carries five people (and two dogs in the tub).So, it’s logical the city runabout vehicle will take up less physical space – and so offer less room – than something like an outback load-lugger.But generally speaking, cars within the same realm – hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, SUVs, utes, pick-ups – will have similar measurements.And remember, a carmaker’s listed vehicle specifications will often include two width measurements: without the wing mirrors extended (which we will use throughout this yarn), and with the wing mirrors extended.Of course there is, and which one you prefer – wider or narrower – mostly boils down to your lifestyle and specific vehicular needs.The main advantage of having a narrow(er) car (hatchback, etc) is its ease of parking in urban areas. For your reference, the minimum dimensions of a small car parking space in Australia (as per the Australian Standard AS 2890) is listed as 2.3 metres wide by 5.0m long. So, there’s that…The main advantage of having a wider car (wagon, van, ute) is the fact that its extra width translates into more interior room and cargo space, meaning (hopefully) more comfort and greater people- and/or cargo-carrying ability.How much do car widths differ by within the same category? Well, I reckon there’s about a maximum 150mm difference between the narrowest and widest in each vehicle type. Reckon I’m incorrect? Good for you. Feel free to push back in the comments section.In Australia we use the metric system of measurement. In this feature, we’ll refer to a car width in millimetres, which is a standard specification measurement in the vehicular world, rather than listing a car width in metres or an average car width in cm or, god forbid, feet.The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) defines selected vehicle types on their footprint (defined as length - mm x width - mm, rounded).This is a more considered way of calculating how much space a vehicle occupies, rather than merely thinking about only its width or length.First up, micro, light or small cars* – we’re talking about vehicles such as Kia Picanto, Suzuki Ignis, Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Kona and the like.(* Micro: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint < 6300mm”; Light: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 6301-7500mm”; or Small: “Hatch, sedan or wagon with a footprint range 7501-8300mm”, according to the FCAI.)The narrow Picanto is listed as “from 1595mm” across, according to our dimension experts here at carsguide.com.au. The wide-for-a-small-car VW Polo is listed as having a width “from 1751mm”, by the CG mob.CarsGuide has listed the Subaru Impreza width as “from 1775mm” wide, and the Ford Focus is listed as “from 1825mm" wide.The average width of a small SUV (with a length - mm x width - mm less than 8100mm) in this part of the vehicular market, according to CarsGuide measurement experts, falls somewhere between 1760mm wide (Kia Stonic) and 1819mm wide (Volkswagen T-Roc).Let’s jump to medium SUVs – (with a FCAI-defined footprint of 8101mm-8800mm) – which includes vehicles such as Kia Sportage, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Toyota RAV4, Nissan X-Trail, Volkswagen Tiguan, etc. These vehicles are referred to as “medium” or “mid-size” and may have five or seven seats.The average width of a medium SUV falls somewhere between 1800mm (Mitsubishi Outlander, as listed by CarsGuide) and 1883mm wide (Ford Escape, as listed by CarsGuide).Large SUVs can carry up to seven people; upper large SUVs are able to carry up to eight passengers.The average width of a large SUV (with an FCAI-listed footprint of between 8801mm and 9800mm) such as Toyota Prado, Land Rover Discovery and their ilk, falls somewhere between 1815mm (Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, as noted by CarsGuide) and 2008mm (Land Rover Defender, as noted by CarsGuide).Upper large SUVs have a FCAI-defined footprint bigger than 9801mm. Think 300 Series LandCruiser (“from 1970mm wide”), Hyundai Palisade (“from 1975mm wide”), and Nissan Patrol (“from 1995mm” wide).Utes are classified as light trucks, which are “vehicles designed principally for commercial but may include designs intended for non-commercial applications."They’re available as two-wheel drive (4x2) or four-wheel drive (4x4) vehicles, and as a cab chassis or with a tub at the rear.These vehicles can legally carry up to five people in the cabin, depending on the body type, and have a FCAI-defined footprint of between 9001mm and 9501mm.The average width of a ute available in Australia falls somewhere between 1815mm (Mitsubishi Triton, as listed by CarsGuide) and 1954mm (VW Amarok, as listed by CarsGuide).Pick-ups are like utes on steroids and the availability of these US 'trucks' is no longer restricted to Australia's grey imports market.Pick-ups – we’re talking about the likes of the Ram 1500, the Ram 2500, the Chevrolet Silverado, the Ford F-150, etc – are now available via mainstream distributors. The average width of these vehicles falls somewhere between 2063mm wide (Chevrolet Silverado, as listed by CarsGuide) and 2630mm wide (Ram 3500, as listed by CarsGuide).If you’re reading this yarn on the CarsGuide website – and not on some dodgy website that’s pilfered our content and is pretending it’s their own – then look up at the menu bar at the top of the page and tap ‘Pricing and Specs’. That will take you, yes, to the ‘Pricing and Specs’ section. Also, feel free to visit the appropriate car-maker’s website and download any specification sheets that are relevant to your particular choice of vehicle. Make sure you look at the correct make-model-variant details.

When you’re buying a car there are numerous factors to take into account but perhaps the most important question you have to ask yourself before buying your new or second-hand vehicle is: how long is it?

Deciding on the best value car in Australia is not a straightforward task. Among other things, it depends on A: How an individual buyer values different elements, and: B: What properties and skill-sets are most important to a particular type of car.